Task

1. In this assignment you will implement a clue sort activity one-on-one with two different children, preferably a preschooler (ages 3-4) and an early elementary child (ages 5-7). Be sure to completely follow the instructions for the activity.
2. The assignment is broken into four sections: 1) Materials, Procedure, and Evaluation, 2) Activity Summary, 3) Reflective Thoughts, and 4) Decision Making.

Section 1: Materials, Procedure, and Evaluation

Materials: 20 to 25 objects (or pictures of objects or cutouts) that can be grouped into several possible groups according to criteria such as color, shape, size, or category (for example, animals, plants, furniture, clothing, or toys).

Procedure: Set all the objects in front of the child in a random arrangement. Try the following types of prompts.

1. “Find some things that are [name a specific color, shape, size, material, pattern, function, or class].”
2. Hold up one object, picture, or cutout; say, “Find some things that belong with this.” After the choices are made, ask, “Why do these things belong together?”

Evaluation: Note whether the child makes a conventional logical group and provides a conventional logical reason such as “because they are cars”, “they are all green”, “you can eat with them.” Or do they have a creative reason that is logical to the child if not to the adult; for example: “I would like them”, “They all have points”, or “I like these colors, but I don’t like those.”

Activity Summary

The activity summary should include the following information in paragraph format. 

• A list the specific materials used in the activity.
• What happened during the implementation? What did you do and say? What did the children do and say?
• Compare the two children’s behaviors and skills; give the ages of the children.
• Include as much detail as possible and note children’s responses, both positive and negative.

Reflective Thoughts

Think of this section as “talking out loud.”  

Think about what your expectation was for the activity vs. what actually happened. Was the expectation(s) met? Ask yourself why? Analyze your activity and try to figure out what went wrong or why something worked so well. 

Write some of your reflective thoughts and then describe what you learned about mathematics and young children by doing this activity.

Decision Making

After summarizing, inquiring, and analyzing your activity, you will come to some decisions about changes you want to make. Address each question:

• How will you implement the activity differently next time?
• How will you meet the needs of all children in the class?
• How can you apply what you learned from the experience?